THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finally, the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation has decided to restore the statue of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose at PMG to its original glory. Also, the civic body has decided to take over the responsibility of maintaining the statue, according to Mayor V K Prasanth.
After the bronze statue, a work by Kanayi Kunjiraman, was painted green overnight a few days back, protests had poured in at the corporation forcing the civic body to hold a special meeting on Saturday to discuss the matter. Kanayi himself had registered his strong protest over the incident saying he should have been consulted before any changes were made to the statue. In fact, he had also demanded the corporation to track down the people responsible for the act.
The Mayor said the corporation will seek Kanayi Kunhiraman’s help to restore the statue to its original glory. The cost of the restoration will be collected from the individual responsible for painting the statue green. (On Friday, All India Federal Bloc chairman Mettukada Mohanan had claimed responsibility for the ‘paint-work’). Prasanth said the Corporation has also handed over a letter to the police seeking action against the ‘culprit.’
The statue, cast in bronze and erected at PMG in 1981, was mysteriously given a coat of green paint a week back. After it kicked up a row, both the Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB) - the government agency in charge of the Thiruvananthapuram City Road Improvement Project (T-CRIP) and its concessionaire, the Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Ltd (TRDCL), had maintained the statue was not their responsibility. The TRDCL used to maintain the island on which the statue stands at a cost of Rs 6,000 per month.
This has prompted the Corporation to take over the responsibility of maintaining the statue, the Mayor said.